HAPPY EARTH DAY! 10 EASY WAYS TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT!

Today is April 22nd 2018!

This day is not just a regular day… it is Earth Day! The earth is such a beautiful place and continues to amaze me every single day with its natural beauty. It truly breaks my heart to know what humans in the last 150 years have been doing to the planet. This planet has been here for millions of years and the last 150 years has had an increased amount of negative impacts compared to before. People just do not care anymore. Generations have become extremely selfish, not realizing the consequences. I find this most evident with generations older than I am. I am really proud of my generation and generations that follow for taking a stand for the environment.

It is truly sad that I can be explaining how something is impacting the environment negatively to someone older than I am, and they roll their eyes at me and say “who cares?” I will never understand how individuals can be as selfish as they are. You can show them videos of plastic polluting the ocean and they turn a blind eye. Some people truly believe that if they change their habits it will not make a difference. Newsflash: it really does! Any little adjustment you can make in your life to help out the planet really helps!!! I went vegetarian and have reduced my use of plastic tremendously. Not everyone can remove meat completely from their diet, but it is important to understand how lessening your intake can benefit you and the planet. There are SO many little adjustments you can make in your life to really make an impact. After all, every little thing counts and if we all do one little thing to help out, that amounts to one extra BIG thing!!!

Let’s be the generation that really makes a difference!

I dream of being part of the generation that stands up in anger and changes the world forever. If we believe our older generations ruined the planet, then it is up to us to fix it!! It is up to us to educate our children on how they can help. We have to keep this movement going. Not only for ourselves to have clean air to breathe, but our children and their children and so on. It is hard to accept that the earth may suddenly not produce enough oxygen for us to all survive someday. Our air may become so polluted, that there is nothing that will be able to clean it! I know some things are bigger than what a regular person can do, but we can fight for it to change if we can not change it ourselves. Boycott companies who use plastic wrapping. Unfortunately, companies use plastic packaging to save money, even though it has terrible consequences. For example, take a look at a picture below of the Caribbean waters polluted by plastic being dumped in the ocean.

So, what can you do to make a difference?

There is an endless amount of things you can do to make a difference from taking public transportation or riding a bike to get to places. Some changes are more difficult to make than others. So I have made a list of TEN things you can do that are easy adjustments in your life, and will have a positive impact forever!!

Adopt a plant based diet.

Before you think I am crazy and you can not go plant based, continue reading. It is not about cutting out meat completely if you can not. Obviously if you could, that would be great!! However, the biggest issue with meat consumption is the amount. Humans used to eat meat once or twice a week. Some people nowadays eat meat 3-5 times a DAY!!! Animal agriculture is the #1 reason for many environmental issues such as, climate change. Try to limit your intake. If you normally eat meat products a couple times a day, try to lessen it to once. After that try to make it every other day. If you can even lessen it to once or twice a week, that would be great! Humans can get their proper nutrients on a plant based diet so that will not be an issue. Educate yourself on foods you should be eating if you are replacing meat. Eating plant based not only helps out the planet, it really does help you out!!! Cutting out meat especially red meat can help anyone out so much! It really does help keep your heart healthy, your skin will look great and you will definitely manage your weight a lot better.

Use a reusable bottle!

This is quite possibly the easiest change someone can make in their life. Buy any reusable water bottle you like and use that instead of plastic bottles! If you can afford it, I really recommend purchasing Swell water bottles. They are great for keeping your drinks both cold and hot! I take it with me to Starbucks to fill it up with my coffee. It keeps my coffee fresh for longer and it keeps my water colder. I have two Swell bottles that I always carry around with me anywhere I go. There are more affordable versions of Swell you can find! I recommend purchasing a stainless steel bottle or any material that is not plastic. Even though you would be reusing the plastic, at some point you will want to throw it away to replace it. I hope everyone is already on this bandwagon and you all carry around cute reusable bottles everywhere you go!

Use a reusable bag for shopping!

This is something that most people already do and it is so nice seeing! Purchase a reusable bag from either your local grocery store or shopping mall. Use it for everything you do! I personally purchased a cute one for shopping at the mall and a separate one for groceries. Plus they look so much cuter than carrying a bunch of plastic bags you struggle carrying anyways. Most stores nowadays in the mall have adopted cardboard bags, which is nice. However, sometimes you may purchase something from one of those stores who have yet to adopt the new trend. Have your reusable bag ready and save the planet one shopping trip at a time! Plus those cardboard bags are made from trees, so even though they are better than plastic, they are still not that great!

Skip the reusable bag and just online shop!

Online shopping produces less carbon emissions than going to a store to shop. Most people prefer online shopping nowadays since it is less time consuming. Mind you, I think online shopping is dangerous. Whenever I am alone at night and feeling bored, I end up buying a whole new wardrobe. I had to recently buy extra storage space for my clothing and my parents were just shaking their head. No amount of storage space needed will stop me from shopping till I drop. Or until my bank account is empty. (Whoops)

Eat locally!

Instead of going to a grocery store to purchase your groceries, go to a local farm! Obviously if there is one in your proximity. Or go to a local grocery store that carries your countries produce. For example, in Ontario there are grocery stores like Goodness Me and Farmboy that carries local produce. This is great as the shipping from a local farm takes up less carbon emissions than shipping from Peru.

Clean Green!

I cannot stress this enough. So many household cleaning products we are using are terrible for the planet and for yourselves to inhale! There are so many substitutes that are sold in store that are eco-friendly! They are labelled with green stickers normally so definitely look out for them! This is such a small adjustment you can make that will totally help out! Skip the bleach too. Bleach is not only TERRIBLE for the planet, it is absolutely terrible for yourself! If you inhale bleach, you might as well just second hand smoke too while you are at it.

Make your home energy efficient!

Purchase only energy efficient appliances. This is simple since most appliances nowadays are energy efficient, Go for the most energy efficient one that you can afford though, since they all vary! Change your lightbulbs to LED or CFL bulbs! Clean your air filters as well so your home’s system does not have to work twice as hard as usual. Before bed, quickly lower your thermostat setting!!! You can increase it when you wake up again, but those eight hours can really make a difference!!!

Go to the library instead of buying books OR swap books!

I definitely have a problem with wanting to purchase all my books. However, if you can find the book you want at the library, grab it from there! It is free and you will have plenty of time to read it! Plus you can always check it out multiple times. Also, when you recommend a book to a friend, just offer them yours! Instead of them purchasing one and wasting hundreds of pages of paper, you can just book swap! I always lend my friends books I have read and recommend. Plus a book is just way greater when you have someone else to share it with.

Eggshells in your garden!

Some of you may not have a garden, so just put them under a tree!! Eggshells are great for composting so save those eggshells from your breakfast and toss them outside! You will be feeding the plants and trees. Won’t that make you feel great?? Honestly, next time you eat your morning eggs, take those eggshells outside and see how fast they get eaten up by that soil.

Use a glass of water when brushing your teeth!

Instead of keeping the sink running while brushing your teeth, just bring a glass of water! This will prevent you from using an excessive amount of water. All you do is just fill that little cup up and use that to wet your toothbrush and wash away any toothpaste from your mouth! It is soooo easy and can really help you save some water in your household!!!! Water is being wasted by so many households. It is important to save water any chance you get and this is by far the easiest way to save on that hydrating liquid.

ALL EASY RIGHT???

Seriously though!!! So easy… the changes you can make in your daily life are much larger than this list of ten! However, this is such a great start and easy one!!! If you would like to read more ways, do your research! You can really make a huge difference. Share your newly adopted mindset with your friends and there are a few of you now making a difference!

The earth is so beautiful. We must take care of her. It is so important to keep our home clean and healthy for future generations. Let’s give our children and their children a great life! Let’s set the right example so we sit back and smile knowing we made a difference! Create your own legacy and be a good person while doing it!!

Here is another photo of me enjoying tree climbing activities:

Do you do something to help the environment? Comment below your cool ideas to help our planet!!

If you would like to get in contact with me, reach out to me on my contact page by clicking HERE.

Feel free to follow my social media platforms found on my right sidebar as well!!!